About: America   Goto Sponge  NotDistinct  Permalink

An Entity of Type : wsb:Song, within Data Space : wasabi.inria.fr associated with source document(s)

AttributesValues
type
sameAs
title
  • America
subject
  • 1956 poems
  • Beat poetry
  • Poetry by Allen Ginsberg
abstract
  • %22America%22 is a poem by Allen Ginsberg, written in 1956. It appears in his collection Howl and Other Poems.The poem is in the first person and reads much like a monologue. It is presented in a somewhat rambling, stream of consciousness format.America is a largely political work, with much of the poem consisting of various accusations against the United States, its government, and its citizens. Ginsberg uses sarcasm to accuse America of attempting to divert responsibility for the Cold War (%22America you don't want to go to war/ it's them bad Russians / Them Russians them Russians and them Chinamen. / And them Russians%22), and makes numerous references to both leftist and anarchist political movements and figures (including Sacco and Vanzetti, the Scottsboro Boys and the Wobblies). Ginsberg's dissatisfaction, however, is tinged with optimism and hope, as exemplified by phrases like %22When will you end the human war?%22 (as opposed to %22why don't you...?%22). The poem's ending is also highly optimistic, a promise to put his %22queer shoulder to the wheel,%22 although the original draft ended on a bleaker note: %22Dark America! toward whom I close my eyes for prophecy, / and bend my speaking heart! / Betrayed! Betrayed!%22[1] America is also an intensely personal poem, making references to Ginsberg's use of marijuana and his homosexuality, as well as fellow Beat writer William S. Burroughs. There is considerable reference to the alienation Ginsberg felt as a result of the culture of the McCarthy era combined with the values implied in the burgeoning suburbia. The longest line in the poem is a sentimental description of a Communist meeting his mother took him to when he was a child, ending abruptly with the ironic pronouncement %22Everybody must have been a spy.%22Some of the words of %22America%22 are used in the The Wonder Years album Suburbia I've Given You All and Now I'm Nothing. The first song on that album begins with Ginsberg reading part of this poem.
schema:datePublished
homepage
musicbrainz
Musicbrainz GUID
  • 27995f7d-667c-47c7-94d9-41897b481478
mo:performer
universally unique identifier
  • 5714dec425ac0d8aee38fb9c
wikipedia
wsb:emotion_tags
wsb:social_tags
bpm
mo:duration
isrc
  • USFI85900488
track number
schema:album
wsb:allMusic_page
wsb:amazon_page
wsb:deezer_artist_id
  • 126752
wsb:deezer_page
wsb:deezer_song_id
  • 2155242
wsb:explicit_lyrics_count
wsb:gain
wsb:goEar_page
wsb:has_explicit_lyrics
wsb:iTunes_page
wsb:language_detected
  • english
wsb:rank
wsb:spotify_page
wsb:title_without_accent
  • America
wsb:youTube_page
wsb:topic_probability
Faceted Search & Find service v1.13.91 as of Mar 24 2020


Alternative Linked Data Documents: Sponger | ODE     Content Formats:       RDF       ODATA       Microdata      About   
This material is Open Knowledge   W3C Semantic Web Technology [RDF Data]
OpenLink Virtuoso version 07.20.3229 as of Jul 10 2020, on Linux (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu), Single-Server Edition (94 GB total memory)
Data on this page belongs to its respective rights holders.
Virtuoso Faceted Browser Copyright © 2009-2025 OpenLink Software